Chicks and Houseplants...



I'd really like to add a Rhode Island Red to my flock!



I had fun today, we got out of the house this afternoon to go on the hunt for Embroidery Hoops (didn't find what I wanted though) and stopped by Aslin-Finch out in the Valley to pick up a bag of Chick Grit (which is finely ground Granite).  While there I got to see the biggest temptation of any feed store this time of year...more chicks!

Alas, I'm saving my last two "spaces" for some green egg layers next year (hopefully)...so no more chicks came home...but aren't they just adorable?  They had four tubs just like the one I snapped a pic of, but this was the only tub with RIRs (the reddish orange chicks).  The black ones are Barred Rocks and the white/yellow ones are most likely the Cornish Crosses (those are meat birds, they get big fast and become dinner by 12-16 weeks old.  Of course, the employee there to help with the chicks and all things related to them knew absolutely nothing about chicks/chickens!  She couldn't even tell someone who asked what breeds they were!  But I digress...



Gertrude holding very still her her photo.



My own chickies are doing great...even if they are 100 times louder than the feed store group (with only 3 sets of lungs as opposed to 100 sets of them)!  They are growing in leaps and bounds and everyone is developing a set of little feathers on their wings!  Gertrude is the only one who holds still long enough for any semblance of a decent picture, but it could also be that she is twice as tall as the other two as well.

Not that you can really see them yet, but Gertrude also has the starts of a feather set on her tail, she had 4 or 5 feathers that are mostly fluff sticking straight up about 1/4" from her tail like a little cow lick, lol.  It really is pretty adorable in my opinion!

I took tonight's pictures of the girls while I was transferring them from a tomato box back into their brooder after I had cleaned it up a little (added another coffee can of fresh pine shavings, replaced the water with some fresh cold stuff, and tried to set the feeder so they wouldn't empty half of it onto the floor again tonight!). 



Clyde giving the camera a little 'tude!



One of the SLW chicks is having diarrhea issues, but I haven't been able to figure out which one it is!  Everyone else is doing fine, save for a couple of pasting issues.  I'm going to do some serious research in the morning and see if there is anything I need to worry about and/or do!  I may give them a little sugar water or try to mix the electrolyte I have for them into the water to help give them a "boost".



Normally, I try to grab Henrietta in the middle of the group during transfers, because she throws the biggest fit if she gets left alone, either in the brooder or the box.  But, I accidentally grabbed Clyde and left Henrietta in the box alone for a whopping 20 seconds or so!  Boy did she let me know how unhappy she was too!

Since I had my camera out (or rather, my cell phone...getting pictures off the camera takes more work, lol), I decided to snap a few of my Avocado Tree.  The newest set of leaves are looking gorgeous and the whole tree is just shooting up!  Of course, they "leaf span" is just getting huge too, I'm guessing this newest set of leaves will push it out to the sides another 4-6 inches!  I already have the planter sitting just off center in that window sill!  I think it's time to move the unused curtain rod for now too, that new leaf set is above the rod, lol.  It really is a pretty tree though...and hardly any work with those decorative rocks on top of the dirt to help limit water loss!  I spray them once a week or so and what it doesn't need seeps down into the tray under it, only to be pulled back up over a few days.  Before I put the rocks on, I was having to water daily to keep up with the water loss!  The bright orange rectangular thing on the right is my Aloe Vera Terrarium...it's doing a lot better since I took the top off, but I only have two aloe plants that survived...out of 5 that sprouted in January/February.  All my plants are little...I want some big ones already!